Prof. Drikus Kriek
Your academic journey began in clinical psychology, and you’ve since transitioned into leadership development. Moreover, you’ve got extensive experience both in research and executive education working with companies on leadership issues, in your view, how has the concept of leadership evolved in the last decade, especially in light of recent global disruptions?
The changes have been quite significant. One of the clearest developments in leadership theory is the growing recognition that leadership is not a one-size-fits-all concept. Its evolution is incremental, with many earlier insights still relevant—and in some cases even more so today. For instance, the idea of the heroic leader was once dominant, attempting to define specific traits and characteristics—an approach that proved difficult and eventually lost popularity. This led to more collective views of leadership. Yet, global events have shown that notions of “strongman” leadership still persist. Another example is the recent emphasis on authenticity. While many value authenticity, it’s clear that in some cases, being authentic doesn’t always serve the greater good or humanity as a whole.
Your research spans key areas of leadership — from authenticity to systems thinking. What core leadership principle do you believe executives often overlook but is crucial for long-term impact?
I believe two elements are critical: character and genuine self-awareness. A leader’s judgment—the way they apply virtues to benefit their followers—is a key aspect of character. That judgment is shaped by how leaders interpret situations, and in turn, their context also shapes their judgment. But how leaders perceive situations and how these perceptions affect them fundamentally depend on their sense of self. Understanding this interplay is a vital leadership competence that supports long-term success.
You often emphasize experiential learning in your teaching. How do you see the role of emotional intelligence and self-awareness in executive leadership development? How do you facilitate this self-discovery process among participants in your seminars?
Experiential learning is especially powerful in teaching leadership. I often say I have “n” case studies in my classes—where “n” is the number of participants—because each person brings a unique learning journey. The experiential learning cycle—experience, emotional reflection, generalization, and application—is central to developing leadership. Becoming aware of how you lead in real-time teamwork or leadership situations is best revealed through experience. I also appreciate this method because it aligns well with different learning styles—activists, pragmatists, reflectors, and theorists. Each participant can engage in their preferred style while also exploring how they react to less familiar approaches.
You’ve worked with leaders in diverse industries through both in-company programs and executive MBAs. What common leadership blind spots do you observe regardless of sector or seniority?
I think many leaders fail to see how their power i.e. the ability to alter the state of others is experienced differently by themselves and their followers. Furthermore, I think that leaders often struggle to distinguish between the difference between their intended behavior, espoused behavior and experienced behavior.
How do you approach designing leadership development seminars to ensure they resonate with executives who already have years of experience?
I think it is a two-way street. We need to ensure that our classes bring current thinking, research and best-practice to executives to enable them to improve optimal performance of their teams and organisations. However, it is also dependent on an open and growth-focused mindset that allow for sharing, learning, and experimenting by participants. The sweet spot is reached when both these come together and the class becomes a learning space where participants step into, contribute and learn as much as the lecturer.
What are the unique learning outcomes or experiences that participants can expect from Module 1 of the AMP 2025?
I think the integration of character, calling to lead, competencies and conditions wherein leadership takes place, offers a unique experience to give participants time to pause, to retool, and to map a leadership journey to the future that is aligned with what they regards as critical to their own lives.
How does this module help leaders better understand themselves before they can effectively lead others or their organizations?
The module allows for focus on the various perspectives and tools leaders can use to expand their own views of leadership in order to apply these lessons more directly. Thus, the focus on their own leadership character and competencies is very much in the center of what the course is all about. It also challenges leaders to focus on their desire to lead and how to enable others to follow and perform optimally.
The AMP 2025 comprises modules on Leadership, Strategic Thinking, and Project Management. How does the Leadership module set the foundation for the subsequent modules?
AMP is designed to tell a cohesive leadership story. Understanding the dynamics of leadership is essential for shaping and implementing strategy. Strategic thinking depends on strong leadership, and even effective project management requires leaders to balance operational, business, and interpersonal skills.
Your book, Teams: The Art of Leading Teams, delves into team dynamics. How do you incorporate these concepts into your teaching to enhance team performance among leaders?
Leading teams is a key competency of leaders because the team of a leader is the most direct system they work in daily. Also, the pervasive and ubiquitous nature of teams require of us to be able to optimize team performance as a key leadership skill. However, in spite of us spending so much time in teams, understanding teams and the layered dynamics thereof is a challenging task. The module tries to unravel these and make them easily applicable to leaders in any team circumstance. Thus, to understand the role of the context, foundation and functioning of a team through teamwork, task execution and communication is the most basic layers and building blocks of team behavior. However, to add the importance of forces (both unconscious and deliberate) to team behavior in creating optimal motivational conditions to ensure peak performance becomes a key leadership skill in managing teams. Lastly, the dynamics associated with the development journey of a team allows for leaders to unlock benefits of using the role of time in teams too. As leaders are the custodians of all these layers, they are responsible to ensure that each of these layers operate optimally to allow followers to step into a proverbial MINDSPACE to perform to the best of their abilities.
Looking ahead, what emerging trends in leadership development do you believe will become essential for future leaders to master?
The ability to manage complexity, maintain life balance, and ultimately lead with a focus on the greater good will be essential for future leaders.
Could you share a powerful moment or transformation you’ve witnessed in a participant during one of your seminars?
There are many powerful stories. Perhaps the woman who left her job to start her own business. Or the hotelier from India who was inspired to begin a parallel career in training. Or the participant from Germany who wrote to say she landed her “dream job.” I also remember a financial manager who, during a career development session, realized he’d never thought seriously about his future—and now couldn’t wait to begin the journey he’d mapped for himself.
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